


Beyond Years

by WritingParadox



Category: Codename: Kids Next Door
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Future, F/M, Future Fic, Galactic Kids Next Door, Gen, Grandchildren, M/M, Meddling Kids, Mystery, Private Investigator, Sector V - Freeform, child abuse mention, death mention, missing character, nursing home
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-09-27 03:59:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9958814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingParadox/pseuds/WritingParadox
Summary: Nigel Uno’s adult children decided to put him in a nursing home when he turned 65. They believed he went insane after their mother mysteriously vanished without a trace. All Nigel ever spoke about was the Kids Next Door and that he went to space. Upon hearing this, Nigel’s grandchildren and the rest of the KND are ready for him to save the day once again.





	1. Our Generation

**Author's Note:**

> I've literally had this fic sitting in my Drive for over a year now. Only written one and a half chapters so far, but I figured I should go ahead and post it to see what people think.
> 
> ///I'll fix the format soon. I'm sorry if it's hard to read right now.\\\\\

# 

They say personality types skip a generation…  
Or maybe I’m the only one that says that. 

“I’m here to see my grandfather!”

“I’m sorry, kid, but we can’t let you in without adult supervision. Nothing against you; we just can’t trust kids unsupervised,” recited a young man behind the counter. He must have said this line a million times during his day job. He was exhausted repeating the same phrases and even more exhausted by unruly children insisting on pestering him.

The child was not pleased with his answer and instead, was more anxious to be permitted. “What do you mean you won’t allow kids? I can’t see my own grandfather? What type of insane place is this!?”

The scrawny receptionist flinched. How could someone raise a child like this? Don’t they teach children to respect their elders? The man choked as he opened his mouth. “Like I said, you need a parent or an adult with you--”

“Like hell I do!” the child interjected causing the man to step back. “You don’t think I’ll get inside. Just you watch. I’ll sit right here on the counter until your boss walks by.” The schoolboy plopped his butt on top of the desk, knocking off nearby pamphlets and pens. The receptionist narrowed his eyes at the child --now close enough to smell the mixture of root beer and cake on the kid’s breath. He resisted the urge to push the child off the counter. After all, that would be child abuse and he was already on parole because of his crazy ex-girlfriend. The man struggled to control his breathing and remain calm.

The boy flopped around, curious of this new height and surroundings. His eyes settled on the name tag pinned onto the receptionist’s jacket. “So, Mr. Tillman, what’s with you adults and always prohibiting us kids?” His small hands reached over to a bowl of candy and dug around to find something suitable. “No Snickers?” he mumbled to himself. Settling on a sucker, the young child continued with his rant, “We Kids Next Door operatives are always one step ahead anyway, like the broccoli luncheon Uncle held last week. We heard all about your plans to give us more tests in school!” When Mr. Tillman didn’t respond, the boy was not pleased. He ferociously pointed his finger at the man. “I got my eye on you,” the child whispered.

The adult cautiously stepped back and bit his bottom lip. Could this child possibly be a madman? The receptionist wasn’t going to take a chance of going back to jail. Mr. Tillman scattered around his workspace, searching for the button that calls security. Before he could do anything, the child stomped outside into the parking lot muttering to himself. A sigh of relief escaped the man’s lips as the tension lifted.

There were four children waiting outside for their companion. They were standing next to a strangely built vehicle. “Anything?” one tense girl said as she made her way to the boy. “No, but I promise you if that adult does anything wrong to my grandfather--” he clenched his fist and looked back at the nursing home. “We need a plan! Numbuh---” An ear-splitting screech interrupted his speech. A girl with choppy black hair appeared on top of their vehicle as she slid down the hood as if it was a slide on the playground.

“How about we just try again tomorrow? That always seems to work.”

“Yuki! You’re going to fall!”

A girl nearly identical to Yuki and a dark-haired boy ran around to the front of the vehicle to catch her if she fell. Yuki stretched out her arms like a bird, prepared for her two companions to catch her. The two children managed to grasp one of Yuki’s wrists respectively; the rest of her body falling out of reach. However, Yuki didn’t notice that they were struggling to catch her. She lifted her head to the sky and straightened her body to embrace the impact of the ground. Watching Yuki flutter to the ground was like watching a magical girl transformation. Her toes graced the asphalt and she arched her back as she bounced back onto the balls of her feet.

She looked to their vehicle behind her and grinned. “Let’s do that again!” As the child was beginning to break free of her friends’ grasps, her twin gripped tighter at her wrist.

“No, Yuki! Imagine what mom will do if you get hurt! Besides, we have a mission, you dimwit.”

“Ugh! You’re no fun, Taya. I don’t even know why we are sisters. You’re always such a stick in the mud.” Yuki stormed off to the side, muttering under her breath.

“Numbuh 343, you know we don't have time for this! Granpop is in trouble! Sis…” Numbuh 1.34 insisted that his sister listen to her and stop acting out, but Yuki didn’t respond to her brother’s plea.

“Numbuh 1.34, sir! We need to act now,” the boy who had caught Yuki just moments ago spoke softly but with a hint of urgency.

Numbuh 1.34 straightened his sunglasses. “Ahem! Right, Numbuh 826. As I was saying,” his eyes retreated back to his sister sitting on the curb despairingly, wondering if she was okay and if she even understood the importance of the mission. He shook his head and continued, “Numbuh 625, ready the cannon!”

A child with dark curly hair turned to face their leader. “Well, Numbuh 1.34, we didn’t bring the cannon.” The operative blushed and continued to be engrossed with the engine of their vehicle. Numbuh 625 rattled the parts under the hood as if something was wrong with it.

“Numbuh 625, what’s wrong with the SCAMPER?” Numbuh 1.34 facepalmed.

The operative jumped, slightly embarrassed that they were being yelled at for not speaking up. “It’s just Numbuh 343 may have damaged the vehicle.” They twisted their fingers nervously awaiting their superior’s anger.

“What could Yuki possibly have done!?” he shouted. His sister flashed her tongue at him.

Yuki’s twin walked to be by her brother’s side. “Well, while you were away she may have input a few incorrect codes. The thing’s old anyway. I don’t see why we don’t get a new one.”

“Old!? Old?! It’s an antique, a relic! It’s a part of Kids Next Door history! We were graced with a beautiful piece of art.” Numbuh 1.34 cradled the side of the SCAMPER longingly. “Isn’t that right, Numbuh 625?”<

Numbuh 625 wiped their hands on their legs. “Yes. It is a nice machine but Taya is right. Yuki did hurt the--”

“See! I told you Riley would agree with me!” the leader defended himself.

Numbuh 826 stepped forward, “Just because Numbuh 625 likes --” He was cut short by Numbuh 344 elbowing him in the stomach. “Oof! What did you do that for, Taya?”

Taya ignored her teammate and continued to talk with her brother. “Ray, don’t make this about Yuki. She’ll get over it. Why don’t we just go in there and pummel them to death?”

“Death?” Numbuh 826 heaved as he clutched his stomach.

“Shut up, Thomas. I can beat anyone up if I want to,” Taya explained.

“Isn’t that a little harsh?”

“So? Ray is right. They have my grandfather!” She pointed her finger to nowhere in particular.

Numbuh 625 coughed and turned to face their teammates. “Sorry to interrupt, but the SCAMPER may need some work.”

“What?” Ray stepped forward, his face contorted in anguish. “What work does it need, Riley?”

“Hey, chill, bro. Riley knows what they’re doing. If we can’t get grandpa today then --”

“No. No. You said it yourself, Taya. Yuki was wrong and can get over this. Why are you siding with her now?”

Yuki sat up from the curb, curious of the proceedings going on. “I’m still here.”

Thomas walked to sit next to her. Laying a hand on her back to comfort her, he spoke, “Numbuh 343, you did good today.”

Yuki brushed him aside. “You’re just saying that.” She stood up and addressed the rest of her team. “I know I messed up.”

“Yuki, it’s fine. This doesn’t change our plan,” Taya added.

“But,” Riley cautiously interjected, “we still need a way home.”

Numbuh 1.34 popped his arm out, exemplifying his point. “See. Riley is right once again. We. Don’t. Have. A. Way. Home. And I’m sorry if I’m the bad guy, but Yuki, you screwed up today.”

The small girl bit her bottom lip and sank back to the curb. “I’m sorry.”

Thomas shook his head and waved his hands. “No, no, no, no. It’s okay. We’ll just call our parents to pick us up.”

“From where? The nursing home? Newsflash, Tom, but we’re not supposed to be here.” Taya stomped her foot. “If anything, we should walk to McDonald’s or Starbucks. Wherever normal kids hang out these days and get picked up from there.”

A Jeep Cherokee sped through the parking lot and stopped in front of the five children. Their mouths all open, agape. A man, fresh off work from his 9-5 job, stepped out of the vehicle. “What are you kids doing here?” He ran his fingers over his coily waves, worried what his nieces, nephews, and godchildren were doing standing in the parking lot of Sunnyville Retirement Home.

“Uncle Marcus!” “Marky!” “Mark!” A chorus of children’s voices rang out, each equally as eager and surprised to see this man appear.

Riley ran to the man, their height only reaching to his knees. “Uncle Marcus, what are you doing here?” Riley adjusted their overalls, hoping to cover up oil and grease stains in the process to appear more presentable.

Marcus laid a hand on top of Riley’s afro and patted their head. “Well, I was driving by and I saw a strange sight. I thought it might be aliens.” He appealed to their imagination.

“Psht, aliens don’t exist. What are really doing here?” Taya asked.

“I wouldn’t be too sure, kid. Have you see the size of that UFO?” He began making his way towards the SCAMPER. “I mean, look at the size of this thing. The only logical explanation would be that it’s a gift from the gods or aliens,” he laid his head down on the hood, rubbing the scrap metal against his cheek. “Just beautiful,” he murmured. “Beautiful machinery.”

Riley commented, “Well, actually it’s an engine run by water and vegetable oil. It’s really simple if you know the physics behind it.”

Taya shot Numbuh 625 a look. “It’s a hunk of junk. Just scrap metal for an art project.” She shrugged, not willing to give over their secrets to an adult.

Marcus peered down at his godchild and smiled. “Taya, it’s a great piece of art if that’s what it is, but,” he turned to his sister’s child, “I’m interested in the physics of why it runs.”

Riley lit up. “You see, it’s a bit complicated but everything is connected to one central motor. Making it actually quite simple since it can all trace back to the motor that makes it run.”

Taya scoffed and leaned on the SCAMPER. “Listen, Marcus. We need a ride home.”

Numbuh 1.34 waved his arms around. “No, we don’t. We can get home on our own.”

Marcus narrowed his eyes. “You know, if a cop came out here to see what you were doing, you’d all be in big trouble. Adult trouble.”

“They wouldn’t do anything,” Numbuh 826 rubbed the back of his head. “Would they? Based on what my older siblings told me, they never got in trouble.”

Marcus laughed at his nephew. “Yeah, but your parents are pretty lax. Still, I don’t think you’d like being dropped on your doorstep by a police officer. That’s not a very Drilvosky thing to do, Thomas.”

“Now you sound like my Granpop,” Thomas muttered under his breath, pushing his shaggy black hair off his shoulders.

“But tell me,” Marcus laid a hand on his shoulder. “What you and your friends were doing here.”

He looked to his cousin, Riley, for some help in getting their uncle off their backs. Riley shrugged. Turning to the Beetles siblings, he was left yet again with more shrugs. He sighed, defeat plastered over his face. Why did they land this on him? “We wanted to bust Grandpa Uno out of the nursing home.” Sector V facepalmed and groaned, unhappy that Numbuh 826 had betrayed them. “What? You didn’t offer an alibi. What was I supposed to say?”

Marcus Gilligan stepped back. “You’re doing what?”

Yuki hopped on her feet. “Grandpa isn’t sick. Why is he in there?”

“Listen,” Marcus heaved, his hand massaging his temples. “Your grandpa is going to be fine, Taya. It’s just, ya know, he grew up with my parents. And they’re getting older. When someone gets older, they’re less likely to --well--” he scratched the back of his head and looked at the children around him, eyes wide waiting for a response.

“To think correctly,” Thomas finished. “I know. My grandparents may not be the best example, but they are crazy. Grandpa Uno is no exception.”

“Thomas, that’s not what I meant.”

“But that’s what you were going to say.”

Yuki turned her head back to Marcus. “My grandpa doesn’t think right? What does that mean?”

Taya stepped forward. “It’s not that he doesn’t think right. People just think he’s wrong when he’s only human. Marcus, this is ridiculous. He doesn’t need to be in there. My parents can take care of him just fine.”

Marcus shook his head. “Your mom has three kids to take care of and an entire classroom of first graders. Your dad has classes to teach at the local community college. Listen, I don’t mean to be harsh on you kids, but your parents can’t take care of Grandpa Uno. Do you think your Uncle Monty can take him in?”

A shudder ran down Sector V’s spines. Taya made a disgusted face. “Uncle?” she mouthed.

Numbuh 1.34 called the attention to him. “We are the Kids Next Door. We help children and we will help adults too if they’re the target of our sworn enemy.”

Marcus chuckled. “Ray, Monty isn’t a villain. He’s a CEO.”

“Of Evil Adult Industries and Corporations,” Ray completed.

“You couldn’t think of a better name than that? You just combined industries and corporations?”

“It’s what they’re called. Can we even trust you, Marcus? I know you pretend to be our friend, but you’re an adult yourself.” Ray stomped to face the man. Standing on his tiptoes and puffing his chest out to appear to be larger.

Marcus held up his palms in defeat. “Oh no. The Kids Next Door has captured me. What do I do now?”

“Bow down in defeat!” Ray shrilled.

“And I was going to give them a ride home,” he began to slowly descend to his knees.

Taya pushed aside her brother. “Wait. He’ll give us a ride home, Ray.”

Ray blinked at his sister. “Get in a car with a stranger? Are you nuts? Did you not listen to anything our parents told us?” He huffed and began to trail on a tangent. “What if that’s not even Marcus? What if it’s a parasite that’s taken over his brain? It could be fooling us into believing it’s him, so we can trust him. We are the Kids Next Door. We are better than that. We are stronger than that. We do not fall for faulty tactics from the enemy. We are --”

“About to get left behind?” Taya called out from the car.

Ray spinned on his heels. The entire team had piled into the car, their seatbelts buckled and ready to go. Marcus had managed to get off the asphalt and sit in the driver’s seat, keys dangling from his brown fingertips. “You coming or not?”

Ray grumbled as he made his way to the vehicle. “This wasn’t part of the plan.”

“We’ll just have to tell Numbuh Millenia we failed the mission and live to fight another day,” Taya tried to console her brother.

Thomas coughed. “Well, Ray didn’t tell Numbuh Millenia about the mission.”

“He what?” Taya gawked at her brother who had grumpily took the seat next to her.

“What? As the sector leader, I don’t have to tell the Supreme Leader everything!”

Riley spoke from the front seat, “We’re going to be in so much trouble.”

Marcus chimed in, “That’s right. If I don’t get you kids home in time for dinner, I’ll be sure to let them know all about your mission.”


	2. The Bet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sector V disagrees in a car ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. Only took me three months. That should be a new record of shortest time.  
> You still don't know whose kids are whose and we haven't seen the original Sector V in person yet, but I promise they'll make a visit and be recurring in future chapters.  
> This chapter is long but the plot and subplots are setting in.  
> Away we go!

“Montgomery Uno. Misery’s Minister as some call him,” a middle-aged woman sucked air through her nose as she peeked through the window, blinds blocking most of her view. She bit her lip and sighed, “Or better yet known as my brother.” She placed a hand on her hip and shifted to face the small young adult standing next to her. “You think you can handle him?” She asked, assertiveness underlying her compassionate voice.

The other woman shrank back. “Um --” her voice trailed off.

“Come on,” the Uno sister grasped their wrist and led her through the door. “I promise to get you a job!” 

Before they could even step foot in the office, Montgomery Uno turned to face them.

His sister stopped abruptly in her tracks, her blonde locks hitting her back in the face. “Monty!” She let go of her friend’s wrist and proceeded to clap her own hands together. “I’d like you to meet --”

“No.”

“You didn’t even let me finish.”

“I don’t have to. The answer is no, Amber.”

Her eyes went wide. “I did it again, didn’t I?”

“Mrs. Beetles, you barged into Mr. Uno’s office. I am so dreadfully sorry for this, Mr. Uno. I’m Sally Conway. I graduated from UTT Tech, and I --”

“Ms. Conway,” Montgomery interrupted once again, “I accept your apology and I am sorry that my sister drug you along on this. She should know better and act like an adult rather than acting like a child. I would look over your resume and keep it on file, but we aren’t looking for any positions to be fulfilled right now.”

Ms. Conway proceeded to oblige and procure her resume from her briefcase. 

“Now, now. Wait a minute. I promised to get you a job and that’s what I’ll be doing,” Amber stopped her.

“Amber, really?” Montgomery cocked his head. “You barged into my office and announced as you were entering that you were promising this lady employment. Don’t you find that a little childish?”

“Childish is doing something a child would do. Helping someone with employment is something an adult would do. So, no. I don’t see the point you’re making, Monty. If anything, I find not employing a well-qualified woman is childish.”

“Do you even know what the definition of childish is?”

“Do you?” Amber stuck her tongue out in retaliation.

Montgomery sighed and outstretched his hand for Ms. Conway’s resume. “I’m sorry for wasting your time today. This shouldn’t happen again. Thank you for coming though. And feel free to leave  _ without _ my sister.”

Ms. Conway nodded and took her leave.

His eyes slanted towards his sister. “Again, Amber? What is up with you? This is third time this month.”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry.” She wiped her hand across her forehead. “You know how it’s been these past few months.”

Monty glanced away from the paper that he was reading. “Oh, I do?” he flicked it onto the desk behind him.

“Yes, Monty. You do,” she urged him. “Listen, I know you’d like to avoid the topic as much as possible, but we can’t keep running around it in circles.”

“Amber,” he sighed as he rounded behind his desk and took a seat. “Dad’s safe now. Everything will be okay. We can check up on him every week --every day even. He’s fine.”

“I’m not worried about him. It was my idea to put him in there anyway.”

“Actually, it was mine. You wanted to send him to some mental facility to have him evaluated.”

“He was screaming about space aliens and secret organizations run by children. He’s gone mad, Monty.”

“I know this. He just --” he paused for a moment “got old. That’s what happens when you age --you start reminiscing of the childhood you had --or the childhood you wish you had.” He grimaced at the thought.

There was an eerie silence that stretched between them as if they were reading each other's minds. Monty scanned his desk, looking for something to occupy him. Amber stood before him, confidently, her hand on her hip, her dark eyes narrowing on him, burning into his soul. Monty looked up briefly. “What?” he asked incredulously.

“Do you think she’s safe?” she whispered.

“God, Amber! You don’t have to whisper it like it’s some secret.” he hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Of course she’s safe. She’s our mother. She probably just went on some business meeting or went away for awhile. She doesn’t have to tell us everything.”

“I know but --for this to coincidentally happen when Dad goes --crazy.”

Monty raised a hand. “Don’t use that word.” He shook his head.

His sister sighed. “Fine. I won’t, but just so you know, Dad is fine.”

“I didn’t ask.”

“I know, but I know you were worrying about him.”

“Amber, for the last time...I could really care less. He’s an old man who just had a few episodes.”

“And our mother is just a woman who --who just happened to have been missing for two months now. Not  _ one _ but two. You still think she’s away on some getaway?”

Monty bit his lip, “No, but you know how she was when we were growing up.”

“And you know how dad was. He always kept his brain sharp and --”

“Worked a lot? Both of them did. It helped us build character and maybe one of us got a good job out of it all.”  
“Wow, you’re still on the fact that I became a teacher. And what did you become? A monster in a suit?” She didn’t give her brother a chance to respond. Her phone began to ring inside her purse, and she took it as an easy way out --a distraction that she could fiddle it. Usually, she’d ignore phone calls in the middle of a conversation. She unlocked her phone to see three missed calls and one text message. She sighed, patting back her wavy hair from her face.

Her brother choked, afraid to spur on another argument with her, “Who is it?”

“Marcus Gilligan,” she blinked, meeting her brother’s gaze.

Monty sat down in his office chair and nodded. “You two are still good friends, right?” He recalled the time Marcus would come by their house in high school only to talk to his sister about romcom films and wear mud masks.

Amber bit her tongue. “I thought you two were still friends too. I mean, I’m friends with the whole gang from back then… Yet, you pushed everyone away.”

Monty rolled his eyes. “I grew up. Something you should have done a long time go.”

Amber gasped but took her brother’s insult with pride and buried her dissatisfaction deep down. “You know, I should really get going and call him back. Apparently, he found my kids being idiots again. He always looks after them.”

“Who is he? The babysitter?”

“No. Just a good man that you shouldn’t let your prejudices get in the way of getting to know him ---again ---for the fifth time around or whatever.”

Monty tapped on his desk. “That was a long time ago.”

“Yeah, and I have kids now that are our future. So, I better go ground them again.” She waved her phone in the air, bitterness swallowing her whole. She turned to leave the office, until remembering what brought her here in the first place. “Oh, and Monty, we have a meeting with the private investigator Thursday. I know it may be a stretch, but dad’s nonsense talk could be of some help to the detective. So, if you’re not too busy --”

“I’ll be there,” he tersely replied.

“Good.” She nodded. “Mom would be proud of you. So would Dad.” She choked back her tears as she exited, leaving her brother alone in the dust of her wrath.

* * *

 

“You kids comfortable back there?” Marcus Gilligan adjusted his rearview mirror and peeked into the backseat.

Cross-armed, Taya retorted, “Only if Ray would stop kicking me.”

Her brother turned to face her, aghast. “I wasn’t kicking you.”

“Yes, you were. Who else would it have been?”

Ray looked around, fidgeting with his sunglasses. “Uh, Yuki?”

Yuki paid no mind to her siblings, her face had fallen into her palm as she stared at the rolling hills outside. “We should go bowling sometime,” she said absentmindedly.

“Ugh!” her brother ran his fingers through his scalp. “Did I have to sit in the middle of you two?”

“Did you really have a choice?” Taya rolled her eyes.

Marcus smiled at the siblings in the backseat. He always took a liking to Amber and David’s three kids, probably because they reminded him a lot of how he and his siblings were in youth. Their personalities didn’t match up much, but the constant bickering was reminiscent of simpler times.

Riley gazed back at their teammates and glanced up at their uncle. “They seem to be getting along just fine.”

Thomas leaned forward from the middle row of seats, “Yeah, but they do know there’s an extra seat right here, right? They didn’t have to sit together.”

“They’re siblings. They sit together, just as they stick together,” Marcus commented.

Ray groaned. “That is  _ so _ not true.”

Taya added, “Yeah, what type of shitty poem was that, Mark?”

“Language, Taya!” he bellowed, blush seeping to his cheeks. He was never good at disciplining the kids.

“What? I’m twelve. I can say what I want.”

”Well, when you’re in my car, I have control of two things: the music and whatever words come out of your mouth.”

“You can’t control what comes out of my mouth! It’s my mouth!” Taya hollered.

“Can you keep it down?” Ray covered his ears.

“Or what?” she teased.

“Or I’ll push you out of this car!”

Taya looked around the vehicle, noting how far they were from the door. “And how will you manage to do that, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Like this,” Ray began demonstrating by pushing his sister.

“Hey, stop pushing me, you twerp,” she pushed and shoved back, creating a ruckus on constant bickering. 

“Stop it!”

“You started it.”

“No, you started it.”

“What? You’re a liar.”

“And you’re an annoying teen.”

“I’m not a teen, twerp.”  
“Aw, look. The teen is using teen words.”

“Shut it before everyone knows you wear Rainbow Monkey underpants.”

“Huh? You wouldn’t.”

“Guess what? I just did.”

“But --but-- we get them discounted.”

Taya crossed her arms in triumph. “Looks like I won.”

Yuki turned her attention away from the window. “No, winning would have been if you managed to push him out of the car.”

Ray gleamed at the observation and stuck his tongue out. “Nnnh!”

Taya’s mouth fell open. “What? You’re supposed to be my twin. We’re supposed to stick together.” She reached over Ray and tried to tackle her sister.

Yawning, Yuki unbuckled her seatbelt and rolled her body forward. “Thomas, will you save me from this goblin?” 

“What?” Thomas pushed himself closer to the window as Yuki outstretched her torso and plopped onto the carpeted ground before him.

Taya groaned, her fingers clawing for a target that wasn’t there. “What!? You can’t just move seats!”

Yuki lifted a thumb into the air to signal she was conscious. She crawled into the middle seat next to Thomas. “That felt great.” She leaned back in her newfound spot and began daydreaming out the window again.

“What? What? What?” Taya hopped in her seat, ignoring her brother’s personal space. 

“Taya!” Marcus choked on his rising voice. “Sit down or else I’ll ---” His face tinted red with anger, he bit the inside of his cheek. 

Riley looked up at their uncle. “They’re not going to listen. They’re too worried about their fragile family system crumbling to control their impulsivity.” 

Marcus’ eyes softened. “Thanks, Riles, but that’s a little….harsh.” He glanced at his nibling while focusing on the road. “Whoever taught you all of this psychology crap?”

“My mom.” Riley sat back, impressed, and folded their arms.

“Well, Riley’s wrong. Where did you get your doctorate again?” Taya teased.

“Taya,” the car filled with a chorus of scolding.

“Well, my actions have nothing to do with my horrible family. They’re horrible anyway. I was just born into a dysfunctional family. Something Riley wouldn’t understand.”

“You’re right. I wouldn’t.” Riley said with little emotion.

Thomas turned around in his seat to face his teammate. “So, Taya. Your grandpop. You don’t think he knew something, do you?”

She shrugged. “As much as I hate to admit it. He could have just been getting old, but that still doesn’t give my mom an excuse to lock him away. He doesn’t deserve to be in there. He was still functioning.”

Thomas nodded. “I don’t know. He was acting a little….odd. He could have been a Kids Next Door operative.”

“That would have been fifty years ago,” Yuki mumbled, unwilling to join in their conversation.

Thomas snorted. “Well….” He swayed keeping his attention on Taya. “I  _ bet _ he was a KND operative.”

“Oh, you bet. Don’t you?” Taya leaned forward, propping her chin on the back of his seat.

“Yeah, I bet.”

“You bet?”

“I bet.”

“Oh. You really bet?”

“Yeah!”

“Will you two knock it off?” Ray shrieked. Once they silenced themselves, he composed himself as their leader. “No Kids Next Door talk around the adult. We can’t trust him.”

Marcus was amused by this comment as he turned off the Interstate. It has been less than ten minutes with these kids and they were more entertaining than what aired on television.

“Aw shit!” Ray cursed. His communicator rang, the volume of the ringer louder than what he was expecting.

“Language!” Marcus warned.

Ray dug into his pant pocket and opened his communicator.

**\--requesting communication: Numbuh Millennia--**

Thomas and Taya leaned toward Ray, examining the communicator. They both glanced at each other, speaking with their eyes.

“What about not talking about the KND with an adult around?” Thomas inquired.

“Shuddap.” Ray rolled his eyes and proceeded to answer the call. “Hey, Numbuh Millenia.”

“Good. You’re there Numbuh 1.34. Is the rest of your team with you?” The screen filled with the face of a young girl with soft features and round, brown eyes.

Ray looked up to two of his teammates 

“No. They went home.”

"Good. Listen, we have our best investigator on the case, but they have other things to worry about. I’m doing you a favor by looking into it. The least you can do is not intrude."

"Trust me, Numbuh Millenia. Does it look like I’ll impede on professional matters?"

There was silence on the other end. Conducting her professionalism with a cough, she continued. “Right. Just don’t try anything. We have reason to believe Uncle might be behind this.”

“Uncle? What would he want with granpop?”

“We don’t know, but our Tech Spies have set up cameras in every crevice of his office. We won’t miss a single conversation. Speaking of conversations,” the supreme leader dragged her voice, “Are you sure you’re not with your team? If I can’t trust the leader of Sector V, then you’re all going on the list of dishonorable decommissioning.”

Numbuh 1.34 swallowed. “Uh. Well, I…..”

On the other end, shrills could be heard. Numbuh Millenia scrunched her nose. “Nevermind, Ray. Numbuh 66 is calling for me again. You know we both have to look out for our teammates. Over and out.” 

**\--END TRANSMISSION--**

Ray plunged his back into the cushions, swallowing him like a locket dropping in the ocean. “Yeah, my team,” he dug into the crevices, picking out crumbs and collecting coins.

His sister, worried, placed a hand on his shoulder. “Just so we’re all on the same page here. We didn’t go on a mission.”

He shrugged his sister’s hand off of him. “No, we didn’t, Numbuh 344. If you or anyone else tells the Supreme Leader about this --”

“Okay, chill,” Thomas reached to the back seat to get his attention. “They don’t know we went to the retirement home. We just have to wait it out for Moonbase’s orders.”

Ray spoke through gritted teeth,“Last I checked, Numbuh 826. You aren’t the leader. So, stop acting like it.”

Taya glanced at Thomas with a devious smile. “About that bet….You thinking what I’m thinking?”

Thomas narrowed his eyes. 

“As sector leader, I don’t approve of bets.” Ray’s mumbling was ignored.

Taya mocked her younger brother. “I’m Ray Beetles. I’m Sector V’s leader. I’m ten-years-old and I think Numbuh Millennia would  _ totally  _ go on a date with me. She’s not out of my league at all. Oh oh! But she doesn’t know that I’ve been disobeying her orders. And that I think Granpop is a secret KND operative.”

Ray struggled to keep his anger to himself. “I’m the leader, Taya! What I say goes.”

Thomas snorted, clapping his hands together. “That’s really accurate.” He wrapped an arm around the headpost, “Say, how bad is this crush of yours on the Supreme Leader?”

“What are you talking about?” Ray crossed his arms. “Why is that even important? My granpop is in a retiring home and you want to talk to me about crushes? This is a highly elite organization, Numbuh 826. Act like it is.”

Thomas nodded, defeated. “I think we have something else to add to that bet, Taya. And you’re the only one who can investigate it.”

“I’m listening.”

“I’ll give you all of the candy I steal on my next raid,” Thomas spit on his palm and held it out.

All of the other kids in the car were disgusted. 

“You won’t even give me the details yet and I don’t know what we’re betting over.” Taya took in his hand dripping with saliva. She smiled and did the same. “But I’ll give. We have a deal --for whatever it is.” She spit into her palm and they shook on it. She gave a soft wink, unnoticed by anyone else.

“No bets!” Her brother squirmed.

“A deal is a deal, brother.” She laughed at his pain, then wiped off the exchanged saliva on her pants. 

He squinted. “I’ll be watching you two.”

They laughed. “Whatever.”

**Author's Note:**

> Numbuh 625/Riley is gender neutral, so that's why I use they/their. If there's a better pronoun to use, then let me know.
> 
> Marcus is one of Numbuh 2 and 5's children. They had three children in total. Riley is the child of Candace Gilligan but has no known father. Thomas' mother is Annie Gilligan, another sibling of Marcus. So that's why Marcus was closer to Riley and Thomas than he is to the Beetles siblings. 
> 
> The genealogy should get clearer the more the story unravels.
> 
> Here's the list of the current Sector V to help you follow along better.
> 
> Ray Beetles, Numbuh 1.34, leader  
> Riley Gilligan, Numbuh 625, technician  
> Yuki Beetles, Numbuh 343, medical specialist  
> Taya Beetles, Numbuh 344, hand-to-hand combat specialist  
> Thomas Drilovsky, Numbuh 826, candy raider/event planner


End file.
